The BankWest Junior Dragster Coca~Cola Points Series was
recognized in the first award presentation of the evening.
Third year racer, Kimberlee Geuther, Fort Pierre, took home
5th place honors in a tie with Gettysburg's Toni Vetter.
Vetter, a first year racer, matched Geuther's 1413
points. Carly Ellingson, Rapid City, finished 4th,
with 2331 points, in the season long battle.
Ellingson, reached five semifinals, with a runner-up and a win
added to finish a strong 4th in her third year of
competition. Rookie Stephanie Holm, Pierre, took home
3rd place, with 2433 points. Holm, scored one win, two runnner up, and
four semifinal showings to secure her position.
In her final year in a junior dragster, Shelby Magorien,
repeated her 2006 runner-up finish in 2007.
Magorien will move up the ranks to the Sportsman class in a
newly acquired late model Mustang. In a repeat of his 2006
feat, James Morris, Pierre, picked up his second
championship jacket and the signature rock trophy, specially
created by Dakota Classique Rock, a Morris Inc. subsidiary.
Additionally, Morris was issued a gold card, good for entry
into all 2008 points series races.
Tyler Ehlers, rookie Snap-On High School class competitor
received 5th place honors. Ehler, won his first race,
shortly after entering the class in midseason. A
semifinal placing and two runner up finishes in only five races
gave the newcomer 1421 points. Alyssa Colson, Blunt, placed
solidly in 4th place, with 1723 points. Colson, saw
double duty on many race weekends, running in Sportsman as
well as High School class. She also represented Oahe
Speedway in the Division ET Finals in Topeka, KS, in
September. Roman Bast, Highmore, took 3rd place with
2129 points. Bast took two wins and two runner up
finishes in the ten race series. Second place winner,
Carl Morris, Pierre, took the position by only one point
over Bast. with three semifinal finishes. one runner-up
and two wins, Morris was able to pick up his silver card,
good for entry into half of the 2008 point races.
Josh Anderson, Pierre, dominated the 2007 series, with four
wins, one runner up and five semifinal finishes. In
reaching the championship, Anderson went to the finals five
of ten races. Anderson thanked his parents
and his engine builder following acceptance of his jacket,
gold card and his
rock. Snap-On Tools distributor, Larry Davis, High
School class sponsor, issued a gift card to the class
winner.
Despite missing the first four races, Duane Soper,
Gettysburg, placed fifth, with 1824 points, in the Beck
Motor Company Street Trophy class. Soper won two races
and placed second once to finish the season. Alex
Lindholm, Pierre, drove his potent AMX to fourth place
in the series. One win and a runner up finish tallied
2018 points. Kerri Morris, Pierre, settled into third
place, winning once, along with one runner up and one
seminal finish. Morris's 2223 points placed her behind 2nd
place winner, Bert Bogner, Oral. Bogner, 2006
Budweiser/Coca~Cola points series winner, gathered 2430
points with one win, a runner up and two semifinal placings.
Class champion, Brennan Gray, took the points lead
after round five and never looked back. Amassing 3242
points, based on two wins , two runner up and three
semifinal showings, Gray walked away with the 2007 jacket.
In his victory speech, Gray thanked his parents and
his grandfather for building his engines.
In, what is, most probably Oahe's toughest class, the
2007 Amsoil Sportsman ladders never ran less than five
rounds in all ten points races. Averaging 25 entries
per race, the class saw some great competition. Tom
Harms, Valentine, NE, emerged a winner twice to take fifth
place honors. Harms missed 2 races, but usually went
to the middle rounds when he did compete. Oahe
Speedway points series drivers accumulate their markers
based on driver points. Harms drew from his stable of
stout Mopars to win his two races in two different cars,
accumulating 2426 points. Series sponsor, Ryan
Peterson, Tolstoy, consistently went rounds to finish with
2724 points. The fourth place winner took the win in
the ninth points race of the season. Derek Gray,
father of Street trophy champ , Brennan Gray, finished out
the season in third place. Following a great showing in the
early season, Gray faded in the second half. With one
win, one runner up and 2 semis, the Pierre resident totaled
2930 points. Ken Kimball, Rapid City, took runner up
honors with 3341 points. Two wins, two runner ups and
a semi final finish placed Kimball's El Camino in the second
spot. Kyle Currier, Onida, raced under the radar
for most of the early season. His immaculate Mustang
went rounds, while others faltered. Currier took the lead
following the 6th points race. Currier thanked his
crew and assembled family and friends. The large
Currier group, dressed in their "Smurf Racing Team" shirts
were seated together, in support of Onida's favorite
son.
The speedway's smallest class, Motorcycle/Snowmobile, saw
six different winners during the season. No one team
dominated the championship. Jud, ND resident, Laura
Moldenhauer, parked her Street trophy ride and went
two-wheel racing in 2007. Moldenhauer won once and
placed second once to finish the season in fifth place with
1316 points. Ray Horsley, Pierre, ran in three
straight final rounds to complete the season. One win,
three runners up and two semifinal appearances garnered Horsley
1724 points. Wade Johnson, Rapid City, missed two races
while competing in Division 6 Divisional races.
Johnson made the best of his foray into Division 6,
with a 3rd place finish in those standings. Oahe
Speedway is a member of Division 5, primarily the upper
Midwest, while Division 6 lies to the Northwest.
Despite his absence from key races in the points, Johnson
was able to secure 3rd place over Horsley by a single
point. His 1725 points came in three semi final showings, a
runner up and a win. Charles, "Ninja Charlie"
Snyder, was
again a factor in the points in 2007. The 2006
Motorcycle/Snowmobile champ placed a strong second in 2007.
In winning three of three final round appearances backed up
with a semifinal
showing, "Ninja" amassed 2230 points. Chris Boom, 2006
runner up, bettered his finish to take the jacket, the rock
and the gold card in 2007. ln matching Snyder's three wins, Boom
was able to take two runners up and a semi round appearance
to move ahead of his rival. Boom, of Pierre, made it to five final rounds. As a part of the Oahe
Speedway 2007 ET Finals team, Boom became the first sled
driver to ever win the Motorcycle/Snowmobile Race of
Champions. Nineteen of the best riders in the Division met
in Topeka, KS, in September. Boom promises to be
a formidable force when he adds another sled to his arsenal
in 2008, ridden by partner, Amanda Peck.
Boom thanked Amanda and his family for his success. He
also thanked his fellow competitors for the challenges they
tossed at him in 2007.
Pro eliminator, another challenging class, saw only 3 points
separating 6, 7, and 8th place. Bill Wright,
Gettysburg, managed to separate his Mercury Capri from that
group and take 5th place with 2216 points. Consistent
runs, lacking a class win, kept "the Professor" in the hunt.
As a color commentator for the bi-weekly "Fast Track" radio
program, Wright continues to be a driving force in the
Pro ranks. Team Gettysburg competitor, Steve Boke, again, ran consistently and with only one runner up
finish, settled into 4th place with 2316 points. Only
one round of competition separated Boke from Wright.
Roger Hansen, Pierre, went two and three rounds each race to
secure third in the standings. Falling as low as 12th
in the points during the middle season, Hanson was able to
make his comeback, fueled by great win in 6 rounds of
competition in the 9th race of the season. Tommy Dale
Vines, Eagle Butte, suffered four straight round one losses to
begin the points chase. Once Vines found his footing,
he was able to go rounds, winning once, and finishing second
to amass 2827 points. His second place finish netted entry
into 5 points races in 2008 and
a special acrylic trophy. Perennial contender, Ken Standiford, Midland, took
a 26- 8 round record into the championship. Two wins and
three semis propelled the "Midland Missile" to 3742 points.
Standiford, 2006 Pro champ, won twice and went to the
semis three times in his quest for this second gold card.
Roger Van Houten, Pierre, beat out Chad Uhrig, Pierre,
by one point, for a 5th place finish in the 2007 Super Pro
standings. "VanScooten" parlayed a runner up and
multiple round wins to accumulate 1710 points.
2006 Super Pro champ, John Hines, Pierre, took fourth place
with a win in round 6. Consistently going two and
three rounds in eliminations secured 2117 points for the Hinesite racing team. Dale Garber, Pierre,
competed in only nine points races in 2007. Four
semifinal rounds and a runner up finish helped the local
racer total 2832 points to take 3rd place in the standings.
Garber's flashy "Kryptonite" Challenger, was a contender for
"Best Appearing Super Pro" car at the ET Finals in Topeka,
KS. Garber was beaten for the honor by another Oahe
Speedway Super Pro contender, Sean Billet, in his "Pucker'd
Up" Chevelle. 2005 Super Pro champion, Terry
Henrikson, Rapid City, placed second in the final standings.
The veteran
racer spent the season sorting out his new LandShark
rear engine dragster, with two wins, a runner up, and
a semi final finish. In one of the closest margins of
victory this past season, in round 7, Henrikson trailered
Joe Wolf, Pierre, by two thousandths of a second. The
2007 Super Pro champion was not entirely sure if he was
going to run for points prior to the start of the season.
Curt Hieb, Chamberlain, apparently made the right
choice and took the title by a scant 2 points over
Henrikson. With 3 wins and a semifinal finish in only
nine races, Hieb consistently drove his detailed
Camaro deep into eliminations at every race he contested.
Hieb was three for three in points race final rounds. Hieb
accepted his gold card, jacket and rock, thanking his crew
chief, Joleen , and his fellow competitors. Hieb challenged
Milton Morris, track owner, to come out and contend
for the 2008 Super Pro title. Morris responded that he
treasured his undefeated status and looked forward to
maintaining that record.
Three racers were recognized for their successes and
pitfalls during the 2007 season. Rich Whipple, Rapid
City, was awarded the "I Can't Drive 55"
award for the fastest mile per hour-193.21 and the quickest
elapsed time-6.968, established on September 22, 2007.
White River's Les Horsley , was honored with the "I Wasn't
Gonna Lift 'til I Saw Elvis" award for an out of shape and
erratic run in his Super Pro Nova in mid August. The
final award, "The Oops, I Did it Again" plaque went to
Pierre driver, Dave Graves. Graves, another Super Pro
contender, garnered the award by taking out a timing cone
during one of his trademark, on the edge passes.
Mark and Patti Broer were recognized for going above and
beyond in assisting a stranded race family over Labor Day
weekend. Joe Smith and his family towed all the way
from Emporia, KS, only to break down within 8 miles of the
speedway. The Broer's extended help and hospitality to the
Smith family during their weekend at the speedway.
Smith was able to overcome the adversity and win two races
that weekend. It was noted that volunteers and
fans, like the Broer's, are so important to the continued
success of Oahe Speedway.
Racing resumes at Oahe Speedway, 15 miles north of Pierre,
on April 19, 2008.
